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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24234916">Amidst the Flowers</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MegumitheGreat/pseuds/MegumitheGreat'>MegumitheGreat</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anxiety, Hallucinations, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Marriage, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 19:21:07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Rape/Non-Con</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,255</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24234916</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MegumitheGreat/pseuds/MegumitheGreat</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Cloud and Zack didn't partake in the main quest to stop Sephiroth, but the effects of the experiments and Sephiroth's Will still plague Cloud.  Living in seclusion, working as mercenaries; Zack tries his best to ease the creeping darkness in Cloud's mind.</p>
<p>
  <b>Heed the warnings</b>
</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sephiroth/Cloud Strife, Zack Fair/Cloud Strife</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>103</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Amidst the Flowers</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>
  <b>Heed the warnings</b>
</p>
<p>Another idea I've mulled over.  Zack took care of Cloud while he was in a coma, but if Zack had survived, I feel like he would stay with him to help him through his anxiety.  Admittedly, this fic does take place in a weird time bubble that coincides and doesn't with progression of events...but meh.  Zack being a supportive husband is what I want!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been seven years since Zack and Cloud had escaped from Shin-Ra Manor in Nibelheim.  They had been subjected to all sorts of experiments and abuse.  All of the people that they had known before were but strangers now.  There was nowhere to turn to; even people like Aerith and Tifa felt too distant to return to in their time of need, and Cloud had never quite recovered from the mako poisoning.  He was cognizant of his surroundings, but he suffered from migraines and seizures any time a memory from the incident that led to their capture surfaced.  Zack had taken it upon himself to care for him and live by his side.  He could work, but he preferred to be with him in case he had an episode.</p>
<p>Cloud had always been an introvert, but since the experiments, he had become more withdrawn.  Zack had remained the same albeit he was far more protective of Cloud now.  This was especially on days when he had hallucinated that the one who had started everything was in front of him.</p>
<p>Sephiroth was the one that had caused them to get captured.  He had fought against Zack and Cloud when they got between him and Jenova, the calamity that fell from the stars.  The One-Winged Angel had beaten Zack to a pulp before stabbing Cloud near his heart.  Though, it was Cloud who killed him by throwing him into mako.  After that, everything was a blur.  Cloud was nearly dead when Hojo had come to collect any evidence, and he was quite fascinated with him.  Because of this, Cloud had received a procedure that had affected him to this day.</p>
<p>It was called Geostigma, something similar to cancer—insidious with no known cure.  The S cells that Hojo had grafted into his arm reacted negatively with the Lifestream, causing it to grow and metastasize.  Zack had it, too, but it wasn’t as bad as Cloud’s condition.  Every time it tingled, Cloud would see the killer standing just a few feet away with glowing green eyes.  Immediately, he would be struck with fear and anxiety that he would curl up in a corner on the floor and whimper.  Zack had found him like this several nights in a row at a time, but he couldn’t help him aside from comforting him and reassuring him that Sephiroth had died long ago.  But it wasn’t true.  There were days that Zack had seen him everywhere, too.</p>
<p>One day, Zack and Cloud took a walk to the Sector 5 church where Aerith used to grow flowers.  They hadn’t seen her in years, but the flowers still grew healthily.  Zack liked to bring Cloud there after he saw Sephiroth again since the flowers seemed to calm him down.  A spot of green in the midst of grey.  But this day was different—the flowers didn’t help Cloud.  They actually seemed to make him more anxious.</p>
<p>“Cloud, listen to me,” Zack gently, quietly told him.  He led him from the flowers to the pews.  “He’s not here.  Remember, he died.”</p>
<p>“No.  No, no, no.  Zack, I can hear him…calling to me…I can’t stand it,” Cloud whimpered.  Zack coaxed him to lie on his lap while he stroked his hair and shushed him.  “He calls to me.  It takes everything I have not to answer to him.  But I don’t know why…?”</p>
<p>Zack was used to this.  The experiment that had been conducted on him had left his mind in tatters.  Cloud would see Sephiroth, edge toward a breakdown, and seek comfort in his company. Every time it happened, Zack pulled his head to his chest and let him listen to the soft beating of his heart.  Most of the time, it calmed him down enough that he could kiss him gently and hold him.  Today, however, seemed like the anxiety was too much.  His usual methods of calming him down weren’t working, and he didn’t want to resort to more intimate ways to make him feel better.  He didn’t mind sleeping with him when he was like this, but he preferred to make such times a more enjoyable occasion.  Desperate times called for desperate distractions.</p>
<p>“Hey, Cloud,” Zack said.  “Want to go back home?”</p>
<p>“Zack—”</p>
<p>“It’ll be okay.  I’ll be with you.”</p>
<p>That was how it was.  Secluded from the rest of the world in a small abandoned apartment in the ruins of Sector 7 with nothing but a mattress, a couple pillows, a sheet or two, and a dusty lantern.  They were mercenaries by trade, but with Cloud’s anxiety and trauma, moving into a populated place wasn’t a good idea yet.  Shin-Ra had been dismantled by the very shady activities it survived by, so they felt they could at least stop hiding.  Zack wanted to find a doctor for Cloud, and once they had enough money, he was hoping to get him medication.</p>
<p>It wasn’t terribly comfortable, but the apartment gave them somewhere to sleep.  On days that they didn’t have work, they rebuilt the apartment together with whatever they could find.  In no time, they had fixed up somewhere they could live together as peacefully as Cloud’s mind would let them.  On the days that his mind troubled him, Zack reminded him that he had him.  He took care of him as best as he could, learning over the years they lived together about how to temper the anxiety and bring him comfort.</p>
<p>Little whispers in his ears, kisses on his lips and neck, nibbles on his chest, scratches on his back.  They reminded Cloud that Zack was real and Sephiroth wasn’t.  They anchored his mind to his body, focusing on the pleasure and comfort that Zack worked hard to give to him.  That was the good thing about being in a deserted place.  Midgar Edge was packed with people, but the wreckage that was the slums?  Complete solitude.</p>
<p>Zack ran his hands through Cloud’s bright golden as he thrust into him.  Clasping his hand in his, he showered him in gentle kisses meant to carry him to a far, far away place.  The Promised Land?  No, nothing that had ever existed on that planet.  It was a paradise all for themselves.  It had giant blooming trees and snow-covered mountains.  Those yellow flowers were there in the fields that bordered a waterfall.  Such a place brought tears to Cloud’s eyes.  Unsullied by years of torment and suffering caused by Shin-Ra, Hojo, Sephiroth; it was the only place he could be free.</p>
<p>When that time together with Zack ended, though, he was brought back to the dismal reality that no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t escape it.  The second he looked away from him, he would see him in the corner of the room with a crooked smile and bloodlust in his jade-colored snake-like eyes.  Of course, Cloud understood the toll his hallucinations and fears took on Zack.  After all, he believed that Zack was only with him out of the obligation to make sure he didn’t do anything rash.  Naturally, Zack didn’t mind as long as he was with Cloud and was able to alleviate some of the anxiety.</p>
<p>“Aw, man, we got such a huge job today!” Zack happily told Cloud the next morning.  He showed him the flyer.  “Someone’s having a wedding and they’re looking for flowers to decorate!  We could take the ones in the church!”</p>
<p>“Can we really take them?  Won’t they die in transit?” Cloud asked quietly.</p>
<p>“Ah, you’re right!  Hmmm, but those flowers would be perfect…oh, wait…” Zack glanced at Cloud, whose eyes were dark from years of sleepless nights.  “Let’s find them somewhere else,” he suggested.  Cloud tilted his head.  “Those flowers help you, and I can’t bear the thought of sending them to people who are just going to throw them away after.”</p>
<p>He knew it.  Zack shouldn’t have to sacrifice business for him.  Cloud bit his lip, withdrawing into himself a little more.  He should take the flowers.  He could find more somewhere else, right?</p>
<p>“Cloud?  Zack to Cloud, do you copy?” Zack teased him.</p>
<p>“We…need the money,” Cloud softly said.  He let out a shaking breath.  “Please, take them.  I can find more or plant more.”</p>
<p>“Uh, Cloud?  I don’t know how to tell you this, but I don’t think you have a green thumb,” Zack joked once more.  “Maybe I can pass by Aerith’s old house.  She had tons of flowers there, didn’t she?  And last I heard, her mom moved out of Midgar a couple years ago.  Oh, I got it!  Let’s take those flowers together, and when we come back, we can move all those flowers to the church.  Think about it!  Church full of flowers, heart full of happiness.”</p>
<p>Zack was too good to him.  He deserved someone better than this mess of a man.  He conceded to him because it seemed like the best option.  He wanted Zack to be happy no matter what.  “That’s a good idea,” Cloud agreed with him.  Then again, he drew back into his shell that prompted Zack to chase after him.</p>
<p>“You’re anxious again,” Zack noted.  He held him close, kissing his forehead and letting him feel his body expand and shrink with each breath.  “Don’t worry so much, Cloud.  I’m here for you, now and always.  Speaking of which, I’ve been thinking about something!”  After letting him go to dig through his pockets, Zack pulled out two bracelets.  Pieces of black leather had been braided together with silver beads on the ends of them.  “They’re not the prettiest, but I made these for us!”</p>
<p>Cloud stared at them then looked up at his beaming face.  “What are they?” he asked.</p>
<p>“Come on, man!  I worked really hard on these!” Zack pouted as cutely as he could to make Cloud laugh.  “Um…so I was thinking…we’ve been together for a long time.  I can’t imagine ever leaving you.  This job that we got for that wedding made me think that maybe we could have that.  I don’t think we’re financially ready to make it official—I haven’t found a place that will give a certificate or anything—but I wanted to make sure that we were always together even when we are apart.  So, I made these bracelets from the junk around Sector 7.”</p>
<p>Zack couldn’t look Cloud in the eyes when he confessed his feelings, but Cloud smiled at him—a genuine smile that wasn’t wrought with fear.  He took one of the bracelets from Zack, slipping it onto his left hand and kissing him sweetly.</p>
<p>“I do,” he told him.</p>
<p>“W-Wow, I didn’t think you’d actually take it!” Zack grinned.  He slipped the bracelet onto his left hand.  “Guess this means we’re almost married!”</p>
<p>“Doesn’t that mean we’re just engaged?”</p>
<p>“Nope!  We’re married.  Sounds better.”</p>
<p>When they returned to the church for some of the flowers, both Zack and Cloud mounted their bikes.  They were headed to Kalm for the wedding.  After dropping off the flowers they had picked from the church, they returned to Midgar Edge then followed winding paths to get to the old Sector 5 slums where Aerith’s house was.  As expected, the flowers that the Ancient girl had planted were still flourishing, an overabundance of greenery that made Zack and Cloud remember that there were places that were just as beautiful.</p>
<p>“Where do we start?” Zack asked.</p>
<p>“We should get one of every kind,” Cloud decided.  “If we pay attention to which flowers are together, maybe we can make them live just as long in the church.  Aerith had to have had some flowerpots, so once they take root…”</p>
<p>“We can transfer them into the ground,” Zack finished.  “Maybe I’m wrong—you do sound like you know how to plant things.”</p>
<p>Cloud smiled at him.  They got to work looking for the best flowers to take with them.  Zack filled pots and pots with topsoil as Cloud searched for the flowers he wanted in the church.  He picked the yellow flowers that were already there with the intent of replenishing the population of them.  Some foxtails, some white lilies, some pink carnations.  In no time at all, their bikes were loaded up with flowers.</p>
<p>Cloud had gone to the very edge of the flower garden to collect a few more when a needling feeling encroached on him.  His left arm tingled horribly, the Geostigma becoming agitated for some reason.  He gripped his arm, which made him drop the flowers he had picked, then fell to his knees.</p>
<p>“Picking flowers, Cloud?” a familiar voice echoed behind him.  He looked back over his shoulder to find Sephiroth staring down at him.  “My, you’ve really gotten soft, haven’t you?”  Before he could react, Sephiroth grabbed him by the neck and threw him down.  Straddling him, Cloud tried to cry out.  “You seem to be living a happy life.  Married, planting a garden with your partner…I wonder, how ephemeral is all this?  How easily can I take away this life?  Is it as easy as ripping apart your mind?”</p>
<p>Cloud struggled against him, but Sephiroth was far stronger than he remembered him being.  The harbinger of calamity peered down at him, his eyes holding only malice for him.  He unzipped his shirt to run his hand all over his chest.  He felt the hammering of his heart, the trembling of his body, and the rough scar left behind the stab wound he had given him all those years ago.</p>
<p>“S-Stop touching me…” Cloud tried to order him, but he was far too frightened to make any threats.  Sephiroth placed his hand over one of his pecs.  He enjoyed the feeling of his heaving breast lifting and lowering in his hand, how hard his nipples became from simply placing his thumb on it.  “S-Stop…”</p>
<p>“There will come a day that this body of yours will become mine,” Sephiroth said.  “Remember, you are the perfect vessel.  My will would have no problem taking over that pathetically weak mind of yours again.”  Leaning further and further down to his face, Sephiroth sneered at him.  “Look, your body begs to house my will.  So why not just give in?”</p>
<p>His hands wandered all around his body, and he took in ever little uncomfortable sound that came from him.  Cloud’s heart ached as he thought about the past.  The experiments done to him had crippled him in a way that couldn’t be repaired even by Zack’s love.</p>
<p>“Cloud!” Zack called out to him.  When Cloud opened his eyes, he found Zack over him holding him in his arms.  “Are you okay?  You collapsed.”  His hands were shaking even while holding to him.  “I think we’re done for the day.”</p>
<p>“Wait, Zack,” Cloud asked of him.  “Did you—no, never mind.”</p>
<p>“Sure?”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Cloud responded after a pause.  What point was there worrying him?</p>
<p>-----------------------------------------</p>
<p>“Alright! A new recipe!” Zack happily chimed.  He stirred a medium-sized pot full of some sort of meat in some sort of broth.  “Boiled monster meat!”</p>
<p>“Is it really a new recipe when every dish you make is boiled monster meat?” Cloud asked him.</p>
<p>“It is if I use a meat you haven’t eaten before!  Now, go ahead!  Try it!”</p>
<p>Cloud sighed before working up the courage to try Zack’s enigmatic cooking.  They only had tin bowls and utensils after days of digging through the wreckage.  He picked out a chunk of meat and put it in his mouth.  Chewy and not too flavorful, and the broth only helped a little bit.  He swallowed it with some difficult, ultimately feeling it float in his stomach.</p>
<p>“How was it?” Zack asked him with excited anticipation.</p>
<p>“It’s not that good…”</p>
<p>Dejected, Zack grabbed himself a bowl.  “Monster meat just isn’t palatable at all.  I’m trying, you know.”</p>
<p>“I know,” Cloud said with a gentle smile.  His arm hurt again, causing him to wince.  He let out a little whine.  Zack immediately rushed to his side only for his husband to deny his help.  “I-It’ll pass.”</p>
<p>“Still, we can compress it again.  That helped last time,” Zack told him.  When Cloud pulled away from him, he realized what he was doing.  “Please, you have to let me help you.”</p>
<p>“I don’t want to be a burden.”</p>
<p>“But you’re not.  Cloud, I like taking care of you.  I don’t want to see you in pain because it hurts me, too.”  Zack let out a sigh seeing Cloud refuse to look at him or let him touch his arm.  “When you collapsed today, I thought you were going to die.  I kept calling to you, but you didn’t respond.  Tell me, did you see him again?”</p>
<p>Cloud grimaced.  “Yeah…touching me all over…” he admitted.  He held his head.  “I know he’s not real, but…the way he touched me…!”  The memory just kept coming back.  He couldn’t stop himself from latching onto him, and Zack hesitantly and careful wrapped his arms around him.  “He won’t leave me alone…constantly saying that we’re going to be one.  I want it to stop, but I know it won’t.”</p>
<p>Zack inhaled his scent as he thought about the spiral descent in the darkness.  Cloud couldn’t escape, and all the help he was giving him wasn’t working.  What else could he do for him?  Cloud kissed him and kissed him and kissed him.  He just wanted to forget that memory and all the hallucinations that came with it.</p>
<p>“Is this really a good idea?” Zack whispered into his lips.</p>
<p>“I want to forget,” Cloud whispered back.  “He never comes when you’re with me.”  He fit the bridge of his nose against his neck.  “You keep him away from me, and it’s the one thing that makes me feel safe.”</p>
<p>Zack hummed with Cloud nuzzled into his neck.  Then he snatched him up, carrying him to the bed.  He loved Cloud more than anything, wanted to help him more than anything, and cherished their time together more than anything.  They felt that way about each other, but the Sephiroth’s memory invading their lives, it was clockwork to make love with him at least once a day every night before it was time to sleep.  It prevented nightmares and let him sleep.  That was why he kissed him senseless, rough and all over to help him forget.  They slept together every night, yet it was always different.  Zack’s love was a charm.</p>
<p>“Z-Zack…!” Cloud gasped, his toes curling and eyes squeezing shut.  He moaned with Zack with each push closer to the edge until he spilled over.</p>
<p>When they separated and held each other close that night, Zack held Cloud close to him.  His fingers swirled circles on his shoulders.  “You do know you can always tell me what’s wrong,” he sighed.  Cloud tightened his arms around his torso.  “Like I said, you’re not a burden.”  He pressed his cheek to his head, a quiet snoring coming from him as he fell asleep.</p>
<p>Cloud truthfully wanted to believe him, but the fact that Zack had to comfort him he was slightly perturbed by the nightmares and hallucinations and blips of memories from the past made him feel like he wasn’t good enough for him.  He buried his face in Zack’s chest, breathing in his scent like it was aromatherapy.  Even though he had fallen asleep, Cloud wanted to thank him for his support.  Unlike before with the desperation to stop the anxiety before it hit him, he kissed him tenderly.  He snuggled up to him so that Zack had someone to hold onto; he had to feel so alone.</p>
<p>In the morning after the two had freshened up with what little water they had and eaten breakfast, Zack and Cloud made their way to the church to plant the flowers they had collected to decorate.  There were so many flowers and pots, but seeing Cloud’s eyes light up at the amount of color in their dull spot in the world once some of them were planted was more than enough for Zack.  They worked for hours making it look as nice as they could before taking a short break to rest their aching muscles.  Cloud’s arm hadn’t hurt him all morning, and Zack was hopeful that maybe it was starting to go away.</p>
<p>“Okay, so I was thinking,” Zack suddenly said.  “If we ever have a lull in work, we should sell these flowers all over the slums.”</p>
<p>“Selling flowers?” Cloud scoffed.</p>
<p>“Hey, don’t laugh!  It’s a good idea!  People don’t get to see flowers these days, right?  So why not bring a little of our happiness to them…for the right price?”</p>
<p>Cloud thought about it.  “I guess it’s a good idea.  But…how would we carry them around?”</p>
<p>“Easy!  We’re a couple of smart guys, so let’s build the best cart ever!  We could probably even motorize it.  Plenty of junk left around that we could make a decent one to start.”</p>
<p>Agreeing with the idea, Cloud watched Zack go on his way to collect a few materials to start.  Cloud had volunteered to keep planting the flowers all over the church, the quietness of the church providing a sanctuary until he got back.  After another hour or so, Zack hadn’t returned while Cloud had successfully covered half of the church in flowers.  He was proud of his work until his arm finally tingled.</p>
<p>“N-No…!” Cloud gasped.  “Not now…!”</p>
<p>He fell to his knees in the center of a spot of flowers, the sunlight beating down on him as a shadow loomed over him.  Black sludge seeped from Cloud’s arm, a calling card that he had returned.</p>
<p>“I will not be pushed away,” Sephiroth said to him.  Taking advantage of Cloud’s state, he shoved him down by his neck and pushed himself up against him.  “I will not let you go.  Nothing you do will rid your heart of my presence.”</p>
<p>“No!  Let go!” Cloud ordered him, but of course, Sephiroth didn’t care.</p>
<p>He pressed his hand over his mouth and nose, gripped at his clothes, and exposed his lower half.  Cloud struggled to breathe, struggled to get away from his grip.  “Stop …!” Cloud begged him.  He couldn’t fight back with Sephiroth overpowering him.</p>
<p>“You and I are the same person,” Sephiroth drawled.  “I am merely claiming what is mine.”</p>
<p>All at once, Cloud felt something pierce his lower abdomen that caused so much pain that his screams stopped in his throat.  Tears streamed from his eyes as Sephiroth pushed deeper into him with as much force he could without tearing him apart.  The blond mercenary couldn’t feel his legs, and his mind was falling into a dark abyss.  He distanced himself, imagining himself in the paradise that he and Zack had created in their dreams.  It was the only safe place in this painful world.  Zack was the only one that could keep him safe, and without him there, there was no safety except deep in his mind where Sephiroth couldn’t reach him.</p>
<p>“Remember this, Cloud,” Sephiroth ordered, still thrusting into him in the field of flowers.  His prey couldn’t move, his eyes lifeless as he disconnected from this.  “You will always be mine.”</p>
<p>“No, he’s not!” Zack’s voice called out.  With a swing of his Buster Sword, he dispelled the Sephiroth tearing through Cloud.  Quickly, Zack got down on his knees, pulling Cloud up into his lap and cradling him.  “Cloud!  Speak to me!  Are you okay?!”</p>
<p>“Z-Zack…?” Cloud listlessly uttered.  “You came…”</p>
<p>“What the hell was happening?  Sephiroth…Sephiroth was right here!”</p>
<p>“I don’t know…he…he was real…”</p>
<p>Zack hugged him tight.  “Let’s get you to a doctor,” he said.</p>
<p>“N-No…the flowers…”</p>
<p>“We can come back to them later!  We need to get you checked out!”  Zack tried to get up with Cloud in his arms, but he still refused to leave.  “Why?”</p>
<p>“No one will believe us…they all think that Sephiroth is dead.  We’re the only ones who know he’s not.  Not physically.  Not mentally.  Not spiritually.”  Cloud turned to him.  “We’re alone, Zack.”  Cloud shrank in his arms.  “I’m sorry you have to suffer with me like this…you don’t have to do—”</p>
<p>“Stop that!  I love you, Cloud, so I’ll anything to help you!  Even if you push me away, I’m not letting fight him alone.  Understand?  I’m with you till the end…otherwise…” he showed him the bracelet he had made.  “I wouldn’t have married you, right?”</p>
<p>“You’re only going to suffer…”</p>
<p>Zack held him by his shoulders then pulled him in for as tight a hug as he could manage with out further hurting him.  “If I have to suffer to keep you safe, then so be it.  I’ve protected you once.  I’ll do it again and again until I breathe my last breath.”  He pushed him back to look in his blue-green eyes.  “We’re more alike than you or me and Sephiroth will ever be.”  He carefully stood up with Cloud, who was still in some pain.  “Let’s go and at least make sure you’re okay.  Then we’ll come back as soon as possible.”</p>
<p>Cloud wasn’t sure what to do.  He slowly wrapped his arms around his neck for the worry that all of this was a dream itself.  He was grateful to Zack, who only wished to stay by him and support him.  Sephiroth was always close by; but being with Zack, basking in his love, feeling the warmth of his body made him feel safe.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I feel I could expand on this fic, but idk.  School's really crippling my ability to write at this point what with the stress and being so busy.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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